10:29am Thursday 5th June 2008
By Kevin Barnes
Two months ago James Hannington was staring distractedly at a flickering computer screen wondering what his life might have been.
There had been a time when his band were on the cusp of stardom after gatecrashing the 1988 Brit Awards with Meatloaf.
There had been the obligatory photo shoots for Just 17 magazine, the meetings with record executives at Chrysalis, the idle comparisons with the Human League.
But now James was just a 43-year-old IT engineer from Wallington, another middle-aged hipster seemingly chasing a vanished past.
He still dusted off his drum kit of course. But, with weary resignation, he knew he would no longer be joining Keith Moon of the Who, John Bonham of Led Zeppelin or even the gorilla from the Dairy Milk advert in the pantheon of great percussionists.
Then one morning his dream was resurrected as quickly as it had died. James tuned into the Christian O'Connell breakfast show on Virgin Radio and heard a distinctly recognisable voice: it belonged to Paul Baker, who 24 years ago had formed a band called Daniel Takes a Train.
The frustrated vocalist had entered the station's One Last Dream competition, a nationwide search for Britain's best "lost" group.
He was launching a national appeal over the airwaves to track down a missing band member. His name: James Hannington.
The rest is history. No sooner had the band reunited than they beat thousands of entrants to reach the final, and compete with one other amateur act for the chance to open for Eric Clapton in front of 40,000 screaming fans at the Hard Rock Calling event.
James says: "I hadn't been in contact with the others for eight years and was completely oblivious to the fact they were reforming.
"The first I heard about it was when Paul mentioned my name live on national radio, which as you can imagine was a bit of a shock.
"To play on the same bill as Eric Clapton at Hyde Park on June 28 would be an amazing opportunity. Once you pass 40 you think your dreams have passed you by."
"And it really is a dream. It would mean so much to us all. We have come a long way and don't want to fall at the final hurdle."
Virgin Radio had striven to reunite mature musicians who split after a "bassist slept with the guitarist's girlfriend or because a Yoko Ono got in the way of that hallowed record deal."
Like babyboomers everywhere, staff seemed to be caught up in the reunions of classic rock bands such as Genesis, the Police and Led Zeppelin.
Across the country, drum sales have doubled since 2000, reaching £41m this year, as hobbyists of a certain age increasingly attack the opening bars of In the Air tonight.
Over the past weeks the two greying finalists have been chasing public votes by performing tasks such as writing jingles, trashing hotel rooms and busking in central London.
To ensure the winners are not too rusty for their high-profile warm-up gig, both have been mentored by former Spandau Ballet frontman Tony Hadley and DJs Russ Williams and Ben Jones.
Public support seems to have been divided here because the other finalist is the Steve Boyce Band, whose drummer Gary Hunsley, 37, comes from Sutton.
Christian O'Connell says: "We've had some amazing stories come out of the competition, everything from former inmates of Leyland prison to a group who gave their neighbour a heart attack during a practice session - but we managed to whittle it down to the final two.
"They came close to getting signed first time round and listening to their tracks, I'm sure there's genuine talent - who knows what might happen after they perform to thousands at Hard Rock Calling."
Daniel Takes a Train formed after a chance meeting at a Secret Affair gig in Leicester Square. James was later added to the line-up after answering an advert for a drummer in the NME and Melody Maker.
His new band seemed destined for obscurity having named themselves after a film about the Hungarian uprising, which was shown, to moderate applause, at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival.
But a remarkable gift for self-publicity ensured Daniel takes a Train were not easily derailed from their ambitions. They achieved minor fame by gatecrashing the 1988 Brit Awards and handing out demo tapes to industry players, having followed Meatloaf and his entourage into the auditorium.
Pictures from the time show Alison Moyet and the Pet Shop Boys brandishing t-shirts emblazoned with the band name.
Radio 1 DJ Peter Powell even described the invasion as the highlight of the vapid awards ceremony.
Further attention came with a photo spread on page three of Just 17 after members arranging for a leather-clad courier to take a box of milk tray to Jonathan Ross's wife Jane Goldman, then features editor at the magazine. Inside the box was a note saying All because the lady loves Daniel Takes A Train'.
The Mail on Sunday also fell under the spell when the group targeted the world record for playing a gig at all 25 Circle Line stations. In true rock'n'roll fashion, they completed eight before "buggering off" to the pub.
Gigs followed at the Astoria, Hammersmith Palais and Empire Leicester Square. A nd soon the rockers attracted the attention of Colin Barlow from Virgin records, now head of Polydor records.
But, before they had the chance to strike platinum, their shot at stardom was over, Daniel, the main songwriter, grew impatient and moved to Barcelona to teach English.
Perhaps he was wary of publicity stunts planned after the Circle Line event."Maybe we could hire a river-boat, and do Daniel Takes a Boat, one member had breezily told You magazine. "Or play in a gents...Daniel Takes a Leak?".
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